Google travel searches now offer pricing alerts

Google Flights users can now get tips on when flights are cheaper than normal thanks to a feature added this week. Google also added features to its hotel searches and Google Trips app.

Google Flights will now display tips under search results alerting the user as to when it’s best to book flights — for instance, a tip might say “prices are less than normal” or a price “won’t drop further.”

To enable the new feature, Google said it is using a combination of statistically analyzed historical flight data and machine learning.

Searching for hotels on Google will also now include tips indicating whether rates are higher than normal. Tips will also indicate if a destination is busier than usual because of factors like holidays, a large business conference in the area or a nearby music festival.

Mobile phone users can also opt into Google’s Hotel Price Tracking to get email alerts when prices drop. Google said that feature will be available on desktop next year.

Google Trips also got a new feature this week: discounts.

When using the trip-planning app, users will have the option to book some attractions and activities at a discounted rate. Inventory in Discounts comes from a number of suppliers, such as Expedia and GetYourGuide.